By Kimberly L. Morgan The U.S. commercial blueberry industry value of utilized production was $933 million in 2020. An unchanging trend since 1970, the U.S. consumer continues to eat less than 40% of the federal dietary guidelines of fruits and vegetables [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2021] and only 12% meet fruit intake requirements (Seung Hee Lee-Kwan et al., 2017). …
Georgia Pecan Estimate: Diminished Crop Compared to 2020
By Clint Thompson Georgia’s final pecan total this season is estimated to be less than half of its total in 2020. While that’s not a surprise to growers and industry leaders, it’s still a tough pill to swallow following last year’s 142 million pounds of production. “I don’t think it’s going to be much over 50 million pounds, if that,” …
Sweet Potato Studies: Team Studying Guava Root-Knot Nematode
By Clint Thompson North Carolina’s top vegetable crop will be under the microscope as part of a $5 million, four-year research project funded by USDA-NIFA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). Craig Yencho, sweet potato breeder at N.C. State University, is part of an 18-member team studying management solutions for the guava root-knot nematode. He said it was introduced into North …
Pecan Prices Stay High for Growers
Pecan prices remain high this week for top quality and export quality pecans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service. As supply continues to dwindle in the latter part of the season in Georgia, producers likely headed back out to their orchards Wednesday and Thursday following inclement weather the early part of the week. Prices paid to …
Looming Deadline: EPA Ban of Chlorpyrifos Will Impact Peach Production
By Clint Thompson The looming deadline for revocation of tolerances for the use of chlorpyrifos (lorsban) means peach tree producers have a little more than two months to find alternatives in managing two pests. According to Brett Blaauw, assistant professor at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the ban of chlorpyrifos will impact growers differently …
Baldwin, Mobile Counties Added to Domestic Sweet Orange Scab Quarantine
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI), is establishing a quarantine for Elsinoë australis, the fungal causal agent of sweet orange scab (SOS), in all of Baldwin and Mobile counties to prevent the spread of the disease. The quarantine area encompasses seven nurseries and 60 acres of citrus …
Pecans Prices, Demand Remain Strong for Georgia Producers
Pecan prices remain strong, while demand is good for Georgia farmers. That’s the latest from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Pecan Report, which was released on Thursday. Temperatures are expected to warm back up to the mid-70s by next Tuesday, which should provide favorable harvesting conditions for those producers hoping to collect what’s remaining in their orchards. “Domestic buyers …
HLB Quarantines Established in Multiple Alabama Counties
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in conjunction with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI), is putting in place new quarantines for huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening disease. The quarantines are confined to areas in Baldwin and Mobile counties in Alabama. The action is necessary because HLB was detected in plant tissue samples …
NCDA&CS Announces Specialty Crop Block Grant Recipients
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced that 16 specialty crop projects have received more than $2.9 million in USDA grants in 2021. Projects included new research on reusing old greenhouse structures for strawberry production, how to limit insecticide usage that can harm pollinators, addressing health and safety concerns for farm workers, and consumer awareness campaigns …
Federal Funding: UF Citrus Faculty Secure Resources in Fight Against Citrus Greening
LAKE ALFRED, Fla — Three USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program grants totaling more than $2.2 million will help University of Florida citrus researchers in their fight against citrus greening disease. In addition, UF/IFAS researchers are serving in leadership roles in two other multi-million-dollar grants awarded to other research institutions across …